"I think of myself as a song and dance man." That was Bob Dylan’s famous answer to a question in a 1965 press conference where he was asked whether he considered himself a poet or a songwriter. Now, at age 65 with a new album that borrows its title from a Charlie Chaplin film, “Modern Times”, we can appreciate that comment even more. This is Dylan’s 32nd studio album and the third leg of an artistic trilogy unequaled among performers at this stage in their careers.
His two previous cds, the Grammy award winning “Time Out of Mind” and “Love and Theft” have been hailed as some of his strongest work and “Modern Times” is at least as good as each one. Employing his croaking “older” voice (his career path is defined by his vocal timbre), spooky instrumentation and lyrics that whoosh past you quicker that you can sometimes comprehend, Dylan takes you on a genre bending trip through blues, folk and early American balladry describing the “times” we live in as only he has done since the early 60’s.
The title is not the only thing Dylan borrows for the album. Almost half the songs are adapted from older compositions. “Rollin’ and Tumblin’, “Someday Baby” and “Nettie Moore” crib lyrics and melodies from blues and folk music of the past but the lyrics he adds give them all new meaning. Plus the true origins of these songs are hazy enough for him to get away with it. He also seems to be making a point about the nature of music itself. Songwriters for generations have been borrowing from what has come before to create a new, “modern” take. It’s an old trick by many a song and dance man.